Machine for preparing shoe uppers for lasting



J. W. PRATT Aug. 5, 1952 MACHINE FOR PREPARING SHOE UPPERS FOR LASTING Original Filed Feb. 26, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 [nvenfar John WPratt Aug. 5, 1952 J- w. PRATT MACHINE FOR PREPARING SHOE UPPERS FORLASTING 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Feb. 26, 1948 invenwr John W Pratt g 5, 1952 J. W. PRATT 2,605,838

' MACHINE FOR PREPARING SHOE UPPERS FOR LASTING Original Filed Feb. 26, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Aug. 5, 1952 MACHINE, Fon PREPARING .snoE Wrens.

' FOR.LASTING John William Pratt, Leicester, England, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Original application February 26, 1948, Serial No.

10,976, now Patent No. 2,523,480, dated September 26, 1950. Divided and this application January 29, 1949, Serial No. 73,595.

Britain March 25, 1947 1 I This invention relates to'machines for, preparing shoeuppers for lasting, the term shoe being usedherein as applicable to outer footwear generally. The present application is a division of a copending application for Letters Patent for improvements in Methods and Machines .for Preparing Uppers for Lasting, Serial No. 10,976, filed on February 26, 1948 and on which Letters Patent No. 2,523,480 were granted on September 26, .1950.

In the manufacture. of shoes having uppers of comparatively heavy material, such as those usedv by agricultural workers in which each upper may include a layer of leather approximately an eighth of an inch in thickness, it is diflicult satisfactorily to conform an. end portion of the upper e. g., the toe portion, tothe contour of the last and to the margin of an insole on the last. In attempting to last the toe endsof such uppers by the use of a machine of the type having toe-embracing wipers, such, for example, as the automatic toe-lasting machine shown in United States Letters Patent No. 2,134,148, granted on October 25, 1938 on an application of W. T. B. Roberts, results have not been as satisfactory as desired because of the fact that the'stiff and'harsh nature of'the upper material tends to preventthe marginal portion of the upper from being wiped inwardly over the insole without the formation of large unwieldy pleats. The presence of such pleats makes it necessary, prior to the attachment of an outsole to the shoe, to trim ofi substantial portions of the margin of the upper over the insole in order that a satisfactorily water-tight joint between the upper and the outsole may be produced, and such extensive trimming necessarily weakens thejoint between the upper and the insole; If, on the other hand, the marginal portion of the upper'is subjected to a skiving operation to reduce its thickness or to a so-called pinking operation by which V-shaped notches are made in the. margin prior to lasting, there is likewise a tendency to weaken the joint .between the upper and the insole. It has, therefore, been the common practice heretofore to last the toe ends of such shoes by the use of a step-by-step lasting machine. This, however, takes considerably more time than would be necessary if such shoes could be satisfactorily lasted in a machine of the above-mentioned type,

and also involves more strain on the operator.

In view of the above considerations, the present invention provides a machine for preparing uppers for lasting in such manner that In Great 6 Claims. (Cl. 164l50) the upper is mounted on a last, the slits extending obliquely through the margin of the upper. and terminating on the'outer and inner surfaces of the upper (i. e., on the grain and flesh sides respectively of a leather upper) in lines extending inwardly from points on the curved edge of the upper in oblique relation to imaginary lines tangential to the curve of the edge of the upper at those points. Preferably the slits extend at angles of approximately 25 to the outer and inner surfaces of the upper and terminate on those surfaces in lines at angles of approximately to the above-mentioned imaginary lines. As illustrated also the slits extend less far inwardly from the edge of the upper on its outer surface than on its inner surface. The slitsthus divide the marginal portion of the upper into a plurality of tabs which overlap one another to a substantial extent. It has been found that when the marginal portion of an, upper so treated is thereafter wiped inwardly over an insole on a last by the toe-embracing wipers of a lasting machine the overlapping tabs thus formed move relatively to one another lengthwise of the edge of the upper in such manner that the margin of the upper ,is readily bedded down on the insole by the wipers without any abrupt variations in its thickness around the end of the shoe bottom. Furthermore, the relation of the tabs to one another and to adjacent portions of the upper is such that tacks driven through them will .hold the upper securely in lasted position.

Since the slits do not extend so far inwardly from the edge of the upper on its outer surface as on its inner surface, the inner extremities of the slits are amply covered by the outsole for better insurance of a water-tight joint. To prepare the upper in this manner the machine herein shown is provided with means for intermittently feeding the toe end of the upper in a direction lengthwise of its edge, a reciprocatory knife for forming slits in the margin of the upper in proper time relation to its feeding movements,

and means for guiding and positioning the upper. in such relation to the path'of movement Fig. 1 is a View partly in left-hand side elepulling-over machine, and possibly also those side grippers which are located comparatively near the end of the toe, willeach close on at least two of the tabs and will thus tension the upper satisfactorily without any substantial danger that any of the tabs will be detached from.

the rest of the upper. Furthermore, the tacks driven by the pulling-over machine to fasten the vation and partly in section, showing mainly the upper portion of the machine in which .the

invention is herein shown as embodied;

Fig. 2 is a view of the upper portion of the machine in front elevation;

Fig. 3 is a detail view, partly in front elevation and partly in section, showing a portion of the means for feeding the upper;

Fig. 4 is a plan view, on an enlarged scale, showin the upper-slitting knife and the means for supporting and guiding the upper;

Fig. 5 is a view in front elevation of the portion of the machine shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is aview in right-hand side elevation of certain parts shown in Figs. 4 and 5; I v

Fig. 7 is a section on the line VII-g-VII of Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a plan view showing in a flat condition the toe-end'portion of an upper after it has been operated upon by the machine;

Fig. 9 is a view in elevation of a portion of the edge of the upper shown in Fig. 8; and

Fig. 10 is aisectional viewof the toe end of a shoe of which an upper prepared by the machine forms apart, the shoe being shown as it appears after the outsole has been applied.

With reference first to Figs. 8, 9 and .10, the

machine hereinafter described forms a plurality of cuts or slits 2 in the curved'margin of the upper 3 before the upper is mounted on a last. These slits are formed at evenly spaced intervals about the greater portion of the toe end of the upper, and they extend in planes obliquely through the margin of the upper, preferably at angles of approximately 25 to the outer and inner surfaces of the upper, i. e., the grain side and the'flesh side respectively of a leather upper.

"When the upper materials include a plurality of layers, the slits are formed in the comparatively heavy outer layer only, and it is this layer which is commonly herein referred to as the upper. The slits terminate on the outer and inner surfaces of the upper in lines '4 and 6 respectively (Fig. 8)

and they preferably extend inwardly from the edge of the upper distances nearly as great as the width of that marginal portion of the upper which is to be lasted inwardly over the insole. They extend, however, less far inwardly on the outer surface of the upper than on the inner surface, as indicated in Fig. 8 by the difference in length of the lines 4 and 6 respectively. The slits are so formed, moreover, that these lines extend inwardly from points on the curved edge of the upper at angles of approximately 70 to imaginary lines tangential to the curve of the edgeof the upper at those points. The slits maybe. spaced, for example, about three-eighths over operation. Since the overlapping tabs 8 are comparatively narrow, thetoe-end gripper of the through suitable gearing 3B.

upper in pulled-over position will commonly pass through two of thetabs, since in presenting the upper to the? grippers its margin will be contracted toisome extent and the tabs will thus be caused to overlap one another to a greater extent than when the upper is flat. The upper will therefore be securely fastened by the tacks.

If the toe end of the shoe is thereafter lasted in a machine of the type having toe-embracing wipers, such as the automatic machine shown in the previously mentioned Letters Patent No. 2,134,148, the wipers will wipe the marginal portion of the upper inwardly over the insole without encountering-any undue resistance and without'formingany large or unwieldy pleats in the upper, i. e., without causing any abrupt variations in thicknessalong its'margin. This is because the tabs '8' will slide evenly'over one another as the length of the marginal edge of the upperis decreased. Contributing substantially to these desirable results is the particular angular relation of the slits 2 to the outer and inner surfaces of the upper and to the edge of the upper, as hereinbefore described. It has been found, for example, that much better results are thus obtained than would be the case if the slits were so formed that the lines 4 and 6 at the termination of the slits on the outer and inner surfacesof the upper were perpendicular to lines tangential to the curve of the edge of the upper at the outer ends of such terminal lines. A further substantial advantage arising from the fact that the slits extend'inwardly from the edge of the upper less far on the outer'surfa'ce of the upper than on its inner surface is that the points where the slits terminate on the outer surface are far enough inwardly from the edge of the last bottom to be amply covered by the outsole, which contributes to the'formation of a watertight joint between the outsole and the upper. This is'illustrated in Fig. 10, where the outsole is shown at l2 and the limit'of one of the slits in the upper is indicated by the line I4.

The machine herein shown for forming the slits in the upper includes a head casting IE to the left-hand side of which is secured a casing l8 provided with bearings for a cam shaft 20, this shaft raving rotatably mounted upon it a pulley 22 driven from any suitable source of power. The pulley 22 is arranged to be coupled to the cam shaft why a clutch 24 of any suitable type, preferably one which will cause the machine to operate continuously as long as a clutch-actuating treadle 26 is held depressed against the resistance of a spring 2?. Rotatably mounted in the head casting i6 is another shaft 28 driven by the shaft 20 at half the speed of the latter Fixed on the shaft 28 is an eccentric 32which, through a rod 34, controls a clutch-tripping lever 36 operated as hereinafter described by the treadle 26 to start, the machine, the lever 36 being arranged to trip the clutch through means including a rod 38. The lower end of the rod 34' is seated in a socket in the lever 35, and when the treadle 26 is released by the operator the rod prevents the lever 36 from moving upwardly to cause the machine to end to the clutch-tripping lever 3G.

alillk permits the work table to he raised by the tr'ead'le as above described to clamp the upper before the clutch is tripped, after which'further .movement of the 'treadle serves totri'p the clutch. In response to this'further movement of the 'treadle' the cam TB swings the rear end of the lever 64 upwardly about the connection between "work-supporting table 3.0 rotatable about a vertical: axis, a feed wheel 42 arranged to cooperate with the table, when the latter hasbeen raised as hereinafter described from a lowered inoperative position to-an operative position, .to feed the marginal portion. of an upper gripped between the table and the feed wheel, and a flat arcuate upper-slitting knifef l't movable in a plane and arranged to cooperate with a shear block 46 to form-the slits in the margin of the upper. The upper is guided in its feeding movements by the shear block and by'two edge gages 48 and 50 (Fig.

4 ),'"thes'e 'parts cooperating to positionthe upper such relation tothe path of movement of the knife as to cause the latter to form the slits in the desired'relation to the upper, .as more particularly hereinafter described. It will be evident that the marginal portion of the toe end of the upper thus guided by the edge gages 48 and 50 is fed by the feed wheel 42 in a path curved similarly to'the edge of the upper.

The work-supporting table 40 is fast on the upper end of a vertical shaft 52 extending downwardl-y' through a sleeve 54 to which it is keyed-in 1 sueh manner as to rotate therewith but to permit it' to be moved upward relatively to the sleeve. The sleeve is rotatably mounted in a lug 56 on "the head casting I6, and below this lug the shaft is mounted for rotary and vertical movements in another lug'58 n the head casting. Immediately below the lug 55 the sleeve 54 has secured to it a spiral gear '60 the upper face of which engages the lower face of the lug to prevent any upwardmovement of the sleeve. Downward movement of the sleeve is prevented by engagement of a shoulder thereon with the upper face of the lug. Below the sleeve 54 the shaft is reduced in diameter and has thereon a shoulder supported by a collar 62 in'which the shaft is free to turn.

This collar is pivotally connected to the bifurcated front end of a rearwardly extending floating lever 6-4 the rear endportion of which is arranged normally to rest on the upper end of a vertical screw 65 threaded inthe head casting. Substantially midway'between this screw and the front end of the'lever a roll 58 is'mounted on thelever'and is; engaged by a segmentalcam member fast on a shaft 12. Fast on the lefthandend of this shaft is an arm l' l'connected by a link 16 to the treadle 2B. 'A 'compressionspring 18 confined between 'thetop of the lever and a wardly than the roll. When the treadle' is depressed, therefore,.the front end of the lever first is swung upwardly by the cam 'Hl'and the work table 40 isthus raised to clamp the upper between-it sand the feed wheel 42. The arm 14 has projecting laterally from it a stud 80. which extends through the slotted lower end of an upwardly extending link 82 connected at itsupper This slotted the lever and the collar 62.

The lever has formed on it's rear-end a series of ratchet teeth 84 arranged to be engaged by a pawl 86 pivotally mounted. on an arm 88 which is fast onahorizontal shaft 90 .in the head casting. The. pawl hastthereon an arm 92 connected by a rod 94 to the clutch-tripping lever 35, a spring 96 being interposed between the arm and a shoulder on the rod, so that as'the clutch-tripping lever is swung downwardly to trip the clutch the pawl 86 is swung into engagement with the ratchet .teeth 84 and held yieldingly against the teeth. The arm 88,- moreover, is controlled by a spring98 which tends. :to swing it downwardly, its downward movement being limited by a screw I00 which'is threaded in .the arm 'andengages .a face on the head casting. The construction is accordingly such that after the upper has been, clamped between the work table and the feed wheel by the action of the cam 70, the further movement of the treadle, whereby the clutch-tripping lever 36 is swung downwardly, first causes the pawl 86 to engage the teeth 84 on the rear end of the lever 64, after which the continued movement of the cam -16 as the treadle is further depressed causes the lever 64 to swing upwardly about its connection with the collar 62, not only against the resistance of the spring 78, but also against the resistance of the spring 98 which opposesthe upward movement'of the arm 88. That is, the rear end of the lever 64 acts through the: pawl '85" to swing the arm '88 upwardly against the resistance of the spring'98. This causes the upper to be clamped yieldingly and still more firmly between the work tableand the feed wheel.

The feed wheel :32, which is serrated toprevent it from slipping on the upper, is fixed on the front end of a rearwardly and downwardlyv inclined shaft I02 which has fast on its rear end a ratchet wheel I0 3 (Fig. 3). This ratchet wheel is operated by a spring-pressed pawl it carried by an arm! 08 which is pivotally mounted on the shaft I02 and is oscillated through a'link III) by a bell-crank lever I i 2 (Fig. 2) mounted on a shaft H4 in the casing i8. This lever being. provided with a roll I I6 engaged by the periphery of a cam M8 on the cam shaft 26. A spring I20 (Fig. l)

justable byj'a set'screw 124 to determine variably the time when the-pawl H36 engages the ratchet wheel 104 and thus to determine the amount of upper-feeding movement imparted to the feed wheel '42. The feed-wheel shaft E02 has fast thereon a bevel-gear !26 in engagement with a bevelgear 123 fast on an inclined shaft I30 which carries a spiral gear I32 in engagement with the previously mentioned gear E8 on the sleeve 54. Accordingly, the work table it is turned'simultaneously with the feed wheel 42. by the pawl and-ratchet mechanism shown in Fig. 3.

The upper-slitting knife M is fast on the front end of a lever I34 secured to the upper end of'a vertical shaft I33 which is mounted to rotate in bearings 438 and (Fig. 2) formed on the head casting l6. Theshaft 136 is adjustable'vertically by means of a screw M2 threaded in a lug M4 on the head casting and located beneath the lower end-of the shaft. The shaft is held in engagement with the screw by a spring Mt which extendsaround the shaft and'is confined between the upperbearing I38 and a pin l-4'8'in the shaft. The rear end of the lever E34 is connected by a link 159 to the lower end of a lever I52 mounted between its ends to swing about the previously mentioned shaft H4. The upper arm of this lever carries a roll I54 which lies in a cam groove I 56 formed in the previously mentioned cam I I8. The link I50is connected to the lever I34 and the lever I52 .by ball-and-socket joints to permit the link to.'- have the necessary lateral play in the swinging of the lever I34.

'I'her'n'eviously mentioned shear block 46 extends partially over the work table 40 at the right of the feed wheel 42 and is secured to a member I51 fast on the head casting I6. It is provided with a lower horizontal surface I58 (Fig. '7) and with an upper-guiding slot I66 downwardly inclined from right to left. Extending downwardly into' this slot near its left-hand lower end are two short projections I82 (Figs. 5 and 7) for a purpose hereinafter described. The slot I66 opens into the front face, the right-hand face and the'lower horizontal face of the shear block. The edge I 64 (Figs. 4 and 7) formed by the intersection of the upper surface of the slot and the lower horizontal surface of the block serves as a shearing edge with which the knife 44 cooperates to form the slits in the upper, as illustrated in Fig. 7, and in order that this Shearing edge will be approximately parallel to the edge ofthe knife at the time when the knife acts on the upper the slot I60 is also downwardly inclined in a rearward'direction (Fig. 6). The downward inclination of the slot I60 from right to left is such that the slits formed by the knife are at angles of approximately 25 to the outer and inner surfaces of the upper. It will be understood that when the curved toe end of the upper is positioned in the slot I60 and between the feed wheel and the work-supporting table its curved edge 'is in engagement with the two edge gages 48 and 50, as illustrated in Fig. 4. The edge gage 48 is positioned at the left-hand side of the shear block 46 below the feed wheel 42 and extends upward partially around the feed wheel, as shown in Fig. 5, and it is adjustable in forward and rearward directions. The edge gage 50, which engages the upper at the right-hand side of the shear block, is secured by a screw I66 to the upper face of the member I51, the screw extending through a slot I68 in the gage to permit the latter also to be adjusted in forward and rearward directions. A portion of this gage extends downwardly across the right-hand end of the slot I611. The two edge gages, when properly adjusted, cooperate to position the upper in such relation to the shearing edge I64 and to the path of movement of the knife that the lines in which the slits formed in the upper terminate on the outer and inner surfaces of the upper form angles of approximately 70 with lines tangential to the curve of the edge of the upper at the outer extremities of the first-mentioned lines. With the upper thus positioned, moreover, the slits formed by the knife extend farther inwardly from the edge of the upper on its inner or flesh surface than on its outer or grain surface, its grain surface being uppermost in the machine. In other words, the pathof the knife intersects the margin of the upper from its edge inwardly in oblique relation to the inner and outer faces of the upper and intersects those faces on lines oblique at their 5 outer extremities to lines tangent at those points to the curved edge of the upper, the path of the knife extending farther inwardly from the edge of the upper on the inner face'of the upper than on its outer face. The previously mentioned projections I62 in the: slot I66 of the shear block, whichv .8 are located near the shearing edge I64, serve by engagement with the upper to insure that it will not slip in the slot in the direction of its feeding movement by reason of the force applied thereto by the knife 44 in forming the slits.

In the use of the above-described machine the operator presents the toe end of an upper grain side uppermost witha portion of its margin in the slot'lfiflof the shear block 46 andanother portion under the feed wheel '42, the upper being in such relation to the shearing edge I64 of the shearblock that the knife will form the first slit therein at the left-hand side of the toe. As the upper is thus presented its edge is engaged by the two gage members 48 and 50 which have been properly adjusted to determine the depth of the slits and the directions in which they will extend inwardly from the edge of the upper. The operator thereafter depresses the 'treadle 26 to raise the table 40 and thus to clamp the upper yieldingly between the table and the feed wheel,- as hereinbefore described. Further depression of the treadle serves to trip the clutch and thus to start the operation of the machine. Upon the starting of the machine the knife is first operated to form a slit in the upper and then returns to its initial position, after which the feed wheel 42 and the table 46 are rotated by the pawl-andratchet' mechanism shown in Fig. 3 to advance the margin of the upper into position for the knife to form the next slit therein, the amount of this advancing movement, which may be about three-eights of an inch, being determined by the adjustment of the pawl-controlling shield I22 (Fig. 3). As the upper is thus fed the operator controls it in such manner as to maintain its 'edge against the gage members 48 and 50. The

machine continues thus to operate on the upper as long as the operator holds the treadle depressed.

When he releases the treadle, it is returned by the spring 21, thus causing the machine to come to a stop and the work table to be lowered to release the upper, the eccentric 32 and the rod 34 controlling the clutch-tripping lever 36in such man- 'ner that when the machine comes to a stop the lasting having, in combination, means for feeding the margin of the toe end of an upper intermittently in a path curved similarly to the edge of the upper before the upper is mounted on a last, an upper-slitting knife mounted for reciprocatory movements in a path intersecting the curved path of the margin of the upper from the edge of the upper inwardly in oblique relation to the opposite faces of the upper, said knife being arranged to move in a path such that it cuts farther inwardly from the edge of the upper on the inner face of the upper than on its outer face, and means for thus moving said knife repeatedly to slit the margin of the upper in time relation to its feeding movements.

2 A machine for preparing shoe uppers for lasting having, in combination, means for feeding the margin of the toe end of an upper intermittently in a path curved similarly to the edge of the upper before the upper is mounted on a last, an upper-slitting knife mounted for movement first into engagement with the margin of the upper on its inner face and then through said margin to its outer face in a path intersecting the curved path of said margin from the edge of the upper inwardly in oblique relation to its inner and outer faces, said knife being arranged to move in a path such that it cuts farther inwardly from the edge of the upper on the inner face of the upper than on its outer face, and means for thus moving said knife repeatedly to slit the margin of the upper in time relation to its feeding movements.

3. A machine for preparing shoe uppers for lasting having, in combination, means for feeding the margin of the toe end of an upper intermittently in a path curved similarly to the edge of the upper before the upper is mounted on a last, an upper-slitting knife mounted for reciprocatory movements in a path intersecting the curved path of the margin of the upper from' the edge of the upper inwardly in oblique relation to the opposite faces of the upper, said knife being arranged to move in a path such that it cuts the upper on lines oblique at their outer extremities to lines tangent at those extremities to the convexly curved edge of the upper, and means for thus moving said knife repeatedly to slit the margin of the upper in time relation to its feeding movements.

4. A machine for preparing shoe uppers for lasting having, in combination, means for feeding the margin-of the toe end of an upper intermittently in a path curved similarly to the edge of the upper before the upper is mounted on a last, an upper-slitting knife mounted for movement first into engagement with the margin of the upper on its inner face and then through said margin to its outer face in a path intersecting the curved path of said margin from the edge of the upper inwardly in oblique relation to its inner and outer faces and intersecting said faces on lines oblique at their outer extremities to lines tangent at those extremities to the convexly curved edge of the upper, said knife being arranged to move in a path such that it cuts farther inwardly from the edge of the upper on the inner face of the upper than on its outer face, and means for thus moving said knife repeatedly to slit the margin of the upper in time relation to its feeding movements.

5. A machine for preparing shoe uppers for lasting having, in combination, means for feeding the margin of the toe end of an upper in- 10 termittently in a direction lengthwise of its edge, gages for guiding said margin in a path curved I similarly-to the edge of the upper by engaging said edge in different locations respectively, an upper-slitting knife mounted for reciprocatory movements in a path intersecting the curved path of the margin of the upper from the edge of the upper inwardly in oblique relation to the opposite faces of the upper, said knife being arranged to move in a path such that it cuts farther inwardly from the edge of the upper on the inner face of the upper than on its outer face, and means for thus moving said knife repeatedly to slit the margin of the upper in time relation to its feeding movements.

6. A machine for preparing shoe uppers for lasting having, in combination, means for feeding the margin of the toe end of an upper intermittently in a direction lengthwise of its edge,

gages for guiding said margin in a path curved similarly to the edge of the upper by engaging said edge in different locations respectively, an upper-slitting knife mounted for reciprocatory movements in a path intersecting the curved path of the margin of the upper from the edge of the upper inwardly in oblique relation to the opposite faces of theupper, said knife being arranged to move in a path such that it cuts the upper on lines oblique at their outer extremities to lines tangent at those extremities to the convexly curved edge of the upper, and means for thus moving said knife repeatedly to slit the margin of the upper in time relation to its feeding movements.

JOHN WILLIAM PRATT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

